News

A Committee of Inquiry established by South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs will begin hearing expert testimony tomorrow on the subject of legalizing the rhino horn trade as the Southern African country, home to more than 80 percent of the world’s rhinos, grapples with a rhino poaching crisis.

As conservationists gather today for the African Elephant Summit ahead of Wednesday’s Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade, elephant poaching rates continue to exceed elephant population growth rates, according to new figures released by CITES’ Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) program.